Get a Handle on your Heating Bill

There are not that many people who actually look forward to paying bills every month. And some of those monthly bills can dramatically change depending on the time of year and home heating bills are definitely one that can be difficult to budget for. Sure it might be great in the summertime when the heat is turned off, but those surprise winter bills can be hard to handle.

A good way to help with your overall household budget is to ask your service provider to put you on equal billing. That way you know what you are going to pay each and every month for your home heating bill and the bonus if you still overpay, is that you even get a refund at the end of the year.

But other than that, keeping that heat bill as low as possible is more under your control than you think. Sure you are at the mercy of your energy supplier as far as the rates that they charge, but how much energy you consume for your heating needs can be substantially reduced if you just take a few minutes to incorporate some energy saving options in your home.

So first of all, keep any heating vents closed that go into rooms that you don’t use very often. Perhaps you have a spare bedroom or bathroom that you use sparingly – so there really is no point in heating it then is there? Keep those doors closed and shut the vents and depending on how large those rooms are, you can easily save money on your next energy bill.

Next, go to your local hardware store and invest in some weather stripping. You can then very easily install this yourself around your windows and doors. Weather stripping wears out after awhile and if you have an older home, chances are it hasn’t been changed or even checked in quite some time. There can be a lot of drafts that are really unnecessary and that really can do a lot to suck out a lot of good hot air and bring in a lot of winter cold air – so it really makes sense to just take care of this problem and reduce the energy waste and save yourself some money at the same time.

And finally, go up and check out your attic insulation. This energy saving step could end up be a bit more costly than some other ideas, but it could be very well worth it in the longer run. Everyone knows that heat rises, so when you crank up your thermostat to keep warmer downstairs, if your attic and roof are not insulated properly, then a lot of the nice warm heat is going to go upstairs and right out the roof.

Here’s an easy test to see how well your house is insulated – next time it snows, see how long it takes to melt away off the roof compared to other houses in your neighborhood. If your house is the first one to have a clear roof, chances are you are losing a lot of heat that you’ve been paying for. And as much as you may love the outdoors, paying to keep it warm, is not a very good idea.